I need to get out of the house so I go to the mall. The only thing to do at the mall is spend money. It’s the same thing everywhere. But what would happen if we saved this money – didn’t get the Jamba Juice, and the dress that was on sale? The word ‘sale’ is trouble. I’ve always been troubled by it. If it’s on ‘sale’ then it must be a good deal. Half the time it’s still marked up way too high, but with the bright red sale sign staring at me, I am sold.

This is relevant because buying stuff is what creates clutter. We don’t think about what we have, what is good in our life. We think about what we need and what will make life better. We enjoy taking things out of their wrappers, but then have the disappointment of what to do next. Sometimes we even go and buy more. It’s our culture.

This is where we have to think a lot. Think about what we have. Think about what in life really makes us happy. When we buy a lot of stuff we are happy leaving the store but we can also be followed by guilt. And what happens when we need gas in the car or want to take a friend out to lunch? These are important, but require extra money. When we consider all of our money extra, we spend it, and then we don’t have money for the important things. That’s what brings us into debt. As they say, a penny saved is a penny earned. This could not be truer. The best way to have money is to not spend it. However, if you are anything like me you are good at justifying every purchase.

This is a painful subject. It comes down to what happens when you find a great deal on something… but it’s something you already have. What do you do? The average person would buy it just because it’s a great deal. Maybe they can give it to a friend or re-sell it. But the chances are we end up keeping it. It becomes clutter.

It’s one thing to learn how to let go. However if we can learn to not gather stuff we are set for life. Buying stuff is built into many peoples systems. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s something to think about. When you go to the store, fill your cart with whatever you want. But when it’s time to go to the check stand, challenge yourself to see how much of it can go back on the shelf.